School History

Get to Know Us!

D’Arcy Lane Incorporated is registered as a Private Career College under the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005 for Massage Therapy and is currently owned and operated by Oneida Nation of the Thames. We have trained thousands of massage therapists who are presently working across Canada. D’Arcy Lane is one of the founding institutions of Registered Massage Therapy in Ontario.

March 4, 1984 was the first grand opening of the D’Arcy Lane Skin and Body Care Studio and offered training in spa services as well as a student clinic. In 1986 The D’Arcy Lane Institute commenced the School for Registered Massage Therapy, European Esthetics, Cosmetology, Electrolysis, Reflexology and Make up Artistry.

It was operated out of the ground floor of retail space in the London Towers building on Dundas Street in London Ontario. The school purchased its own building in 1992 at 627 Maitland Street, London where we continue to operate and manage the school today.

Our Name

Many have wondered where our name originated from and the story is very unique and inspiring. Back in the 1500’s the Irish King James IV was captured by the English. May Ously Blake Lane, the oldest daughter of the Lane family, dressed up as a man and crossed the enemy lines and brought the King back to safety. For her bravery she was knighted and given the family seal ring and honorary title of D’Arcy Lane. This right of succession was to be handed down to the oldest daughter of each of the Lane families. Our founder Rosemary Goyeau, the last daughter of the Lane family, was given the seal and ring from her grandmother and mother but had no daughter of her own to bestow this great honour. Interest in the field of esthetics and alternative therapies was developed in Rosemary through her grandmother and she decided to pay tribute to her through the naming of this School where her legacy continues.

In 2007 a new chapter began as The Oneida Nation of the Thames purchased D’Arcy Lane agreeing to keep her name and carry the legacy of quality education forward. The Oneida, members of the League of the Iroquois, have a remarkable history of their own. The People of the Standing Stone as they have been known for some time, moved from New York State to Ontario around 1840. The Oneida were the only Iroquois nation that fought alongside the Colonists against the British in the American Revolution. After a victorious war, the Oneida were promised their sovereignty along with their 6 million acres of land from their American Allies.

The agreement was ultimately broken by the Americans and the Oneida lost all but 32 acres of their land. This forced a group of Oneida to move further North to Ontario, Canada, their traditional hunting grounds. This small group of Oneida settled in Middlesex County where they remain the only First Nation in Canada that owns their own land outright. The Iroquois people have inhabited the areas of Ontario and upstate New York for well over 4,000 years making them the original Peoples of this land. Iroquois culture is among the oldest on the planet and offers much wisdom and knowledge.

The fundamental values held in the Oneida philosophy include the belief that Mother Earth is the giver of all and that she must be respected along with all of her occupants including all people. This is a fundamental truth that is more relevant than ever especially in the times we now live in.

As Darcy Lane looks to the future we call upon this wisdom to build new legacies in treatment and healing. We are working diligently to integrate First Nation Traditional Healing with Massage Therapy and will be offering this summer for the first time courses that intersect Western and Native healing.